TOBIAS BACH Research Fellow, University of Potsdam, GermanyDARIO BARBIERI Assistant Professor, Bocconi University, ItalyJOHN P. BURNS Professor, University of Hong Kong, ChinaTOM CHRISTENSEN Professor, University of Oslo, NorwayPAOLO FEDELE Assistant Professor, Udine University, ItalyDAVIDE GALLI Consultant at Business Integration Partners, ItalyMARIEKE VAN GENUGTEN Assistant Professor, University of Twente, the NetherlandsGYÖRGY HAJNAL Senior Researcher/Head of Department, ECOSTAT Government Research Institute, Department of Public Administration Research, HungaryJOHN HALLIGAN Professor, University of Canberra, AustraliaCLAUDE LAURIN Professor, HEC Montreal, CanadaMARTINO MAGGETTI Senior Researcher/Lecturer, University of Zurich and University of Lausanne, SwitzerlandJOERY MATTHYS Researcher, Catholic University Leuven, BelgiumFALKE MEYERS Expert, Flemish Agency for Personnel and Organization, BelgiumEDOARDO ONGARO Professor, Bocconi University, ItalyMARTIN PAINTER Professor, City University of Hong Kong, ChinaMARIE-ÈVE QUENNEVILLE Lecturer, HEC Montreal, CanadaVIDAR WANGEN ROLLAND Adviser, Norwegian Social Science Data Services, NorwayJAN ROMMEL Researcher, Catholic University Leuven, BelgiumPAUL G. RONESS Professor, University of Bergen, NorwayANDREW SULLE Research Fellow, Catholic University Leuven, BelgiumNICOLE THIBODEAU Assistant Professor, Willamette University, USABRAM VERSCHUERE Assistant Professor, University CollegeGent, BelgiumWAY-HANG YEE Senior Research Associate, City University of Hong Kong, ChinaJOHN-ERIK ÅGOTNES Adviser, Directorate of Fisheries, Norway

• Reforming Public sector organizations; P.Lægreid & K.Verhoest PART I: PROLIFERATION AND SPECIALIZATION The Structural Autonomy of the Norwegian State: Increased Specialization or a Pendulum Shift?; P.Lægreid, V.W.Rolland, P.G.Roness, & J-E.Ågotnes The Agency Landscape in Hungary 2002-2006; G.Hajnal Specialization and Fragmentation in Regulatory Regimes; J.Rommel, K.Verhoest & J.Matthys PART II: AUTONOMY AND CONTROL Policy and Management Autonomy of Federal Agencies in Germany; T.Bach Explaining Autonomy in Public Agencies: the Case of Hong Kong; M.Painter, J.P.Burns  & W-H.Yee Determinants of Result-based Control in Italian Agencies; D.Barbieri, P.Fedele, D.Gall & E.Ongaro PART III: PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS The Long-run Performance of Decentralized Agencies in Québec; M-E.Quenneville, C.Laurin & N.Thibodeau Comparing Impacts of Modes of Governance; M.Van Genuchten Are Regulatory Agencies Delivering What they Promise?; M.Maggetti Performance of Public Sector Organizations: Do Managerial Tools Matter?; K.Verhoest, B.Verschuere, F.Meyers &  A.Sulle PART IV: POST-NPM AND WHOLE -OF-GOVERNMENT: INCREASED COMPLEXITY Post-PNM Responses to Disaggregation through Coordinating Horizontally and Integrating Governance; J.Halligan Increased Complexity in Public Organizations – the Challenges of Combining NPM and POST-NPM features; T.Christensen & P.Laegreid Organizing Public Sector Agencies: Challenges and Reflections; K.Verhoest & P.Laegreid

'Global reform of governmental bureaucracies during the past 20 years or so has left academics and practitioners alike with a multitude of new questions, to which many old answers are no longer relevant. This book at once comprehensive yet sharply focused in its scope is an invaluable contribution to the search for new answers. It deserves to be widely read.' - Robert Gregory, Professor of Political Science, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand 'Governance of Public Sector Organizations presents intriguing results from an international data collection effort. The volume offers a comprehensive analysis of contemporary institutional developments in central government, particularly the role of executive agencies in governance. Drawing on an international network of senior scholars, this book is theoretically rich, conceptually clear, and methodologically innovative. It is a significant contribution to our knowledge of the executive agencies.' - Jon Pierre, Professor of Political Science, Department of Government, University of Gothenburg, Sweden